Volume 7/Issue 18

Posted on August 10, 2017

Gubernatorial Tidbits

New Leadership at PANYNJ

Lyft Announces Partnership with Amtrak

Gov. Christie Signs Bill Modernizing EMS Services

Gubernatorial Tidbits

According to PoliticoNew Jersey and other media reports, a new super PAC called The Committee to Build the Economy has formed and raised $1 million in support of Phil Murphy. The $1 million raised thus far came from just three contributions; $500K from Garden State Forward, the NJEA super PAC, $250K from Growing Economic Opportunities, which is aligned with the NJ State Laborers, and $250K from UNITE HERE, State and Local Fund, which represents hotel, restaurant and service workers.

In other news, Ambassador Murphy signaled his support for U.S. Senator Cory Booker’s recent legislation to legalize marijuana, commending the Senator’s efforts “to promote social justice” and bring about “rational federal drug policy.”

Lt. Governor Guadgano recently held a fundraiser and rally with Republican National Committee Co-Chair Bob Paduchik, who dismissed reports that national Republicans were withholding their support for her candidacy. According to the Observer.com, the Lieutenant Governor raised $250K at the event.

New Leadership at PANYNJ

Last week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the appointments of Kevin O'Toole as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners and Rick Cotton as Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and Jersey.

Mr. O'Toole is the Managing Partner of O'Toole Scrivo Fernandez Weiner Van Lieu, LLC and recently concluded a 20-plus year term in the New Jersey Legislature, serving in both the General Assembly and the State Senate. His legislative record includes many significant bills, including the passage the of a landmark Transportation Trust Fund measure that provided long-term sustainability for New Jersey's transportation infrastructure. He was known for being one of Governor Christie’s staunch allies in the Legislature.

Mr. Cotton has served as Governor Cuomo's Special Counsel for Interagency Initiatives, overseeing most of the Governor's major downstate infrastructure priorities including LaGuardia and JFK Airports, the Penn-Farley Complex, the new Tappan Zee Bridge and the expansion of the Javits Center. Mr. Cotton joined the administration following 25 years at NBC Universal.

Lyft Announces Partnership with Amtrak

Ridesharing company Lyft recently announced its exclusive partnership with Amtrak that will allow passengers to request a ride from its drivers directly from the Amtrak app.

The agreement provides Amtrak customers First/Last mile connections to rail stations, eliminates traveler’s need for parking and allows first-time Lyft customers to receive $5 off each of their first four Lyft rides by using the promo code AMTRAKLYFT.

This new initiative expands on Lyft’s effort to partner with transit operators to connect riders with their origins and destinations, improve mobility access, and cut emissions. The Lyft-Amtrak partnership is effective nationwide, reaching 97% of Amtrak riders in Lyft's 360 communities across the country.

RCSG proudly works with Lyft to build stakeholder and third-party support for company initiatives.

Gov. Christie Signs Bill Modernizing EMS Services

Governor Christie recently signed legislation that establishes a system to track and analyze EMS response to medical emergencies, including to residents suffering from an opioid overdose.

Under the new law, each EMS provider that provides pre-hospital emergency medical care to patients in the state will be required to report information concerning each incident in which they provide emergency medical services to the Department of Health.

"Data tracking will help to improve the system of care in our state, allowing us to analyze EMS response to emergencies but also to provide real-time data to hospitals so that medical personnel are better prepared when a patient arrives," said Senator Vitale.

The bill was supported by the NJ Association of Paramedic Programs, a new client of RCSG.